Claws
by ice.venom.77
Summary: A story that takes place with the next generation of heroes. Yua Asigiri is a small, local hero just out of school, having made no real debut yet. In the search for her call-to-fame, she meets a gang of criminals - one with the ability to set anything he touches on fire, and one with some sort of mysterious reinforcement quirk - the other three she's seen have not yet revealed the


Yua Asigiri was never one for show.

This wasn't exactly intentional. She wanted, she craved, the attention that came from fame, like a moth drawn to a flame. But she just didn't stick out, no matter how hard she tried. She was just so average.

This would change.

Yua had recently graduated from a hero course. Not UA, but a less well-known one. Her quirk? Claws. Replacing her fingernails were long, retractable claws - at full length, they went out about two and a half inches, although she didn't use them at full length as often as she liked. They broke quite easily at that length, and although they grew back (and they were stronger every time), it made her feel quite defenseless. They took much longer than fingernails to fully come back.

Her quirk was not that all unique or special, but it worked well enough in a fight - They were as sharp as knives. They were also quite useful for scratching that back itch you can never seem to reach.

Yua was hoping, waiting, for an opportunity to make her debut. Every time there was a villain fight, someone else got there to save the day just before she did. The only cases she had managed to resolve herself were petty crimes such as robbery. Although that was part of a hero's job, she wanted something more. She wanted to be recognized; she wanted her image to echo in people's heads when they heard her name.

Yua Asigiri.

Demoness.

On a rainy Wednesday afternoon, she finally got her opportunity.

It started with smoke and flames rising from the street just across from her. She turned when she heard the screams and commotion and the unforgettable smell of fire. Outside the building - which looked to be some sort of jewelry shop - there was a group of people standing unflinchingly, just a few inches from flames.

In fact, one of them was leaning into the flames, his hand resting on the burning building. Yua frowned and, without even looking for incoming cars, darted across the road, her footsteps inaudible against the howling crowds as they cleared out from the area. It seemed to take ages to get there, even though it was only a few seconds.

Yua put her hand on the shoulder of the man leaning onto the building. It's then that she noticed that he was the only one without a heavy-looking sash thrown across his shoulder. Were they robbing the place? No, that couldn't be it; if they were, why were they choosing to stay instead of running away before a pro hero came along? Maybe thievery was simply a side-goal, or even something made to trick people so they wouldn't guess that they had another agenda.

Or maybe she was overthinking things.

As she was making these calculations, the man turned and grabbed Yua's arm hard. She had to muffle a yell of surprise before pain raked up her arm and she staggered back, stifling a scream. When she looked down at her arm, she was alarmed.

It was on fire.

While she quickly managed to put it out with a spare cloth she kept around, it left a nasty burn that left a hole in her hero costume. At least it was her arm and not anything more vital.

Yua lunged towards the man, pushing her claws out to an inch long, and she managed to rake them down his arm. Beads of blood appeared and dripped down his arm as he leaped back with a yelp.

Yua looked at the man with narrowed eyes. "Interesting quirk you got there. Do you think it might have anything to do with this fire?"

The man didn't even do her the liberty of opening his mouth. Instead, he just smirked, lowering his head so that his hood obscured much of it in darkness. Yua took a long, billowing step towards him, but was intercepted by another villain.

Yua had a high pain tolerance.

But this was something different. Something powerful.

The villain sprang towards Yua with his arm outstretched. Expecting just a punch, Yua did nothing to dodge the blow but just braced herself. The man didn't look very strong, so it shouldn't have been such a hard hit.

But nevertheless she found herself flying backwards with a burning pain in her stomach and chest. She landed several feet away with a loud thump, spraying gravel and rocks into the air.

She looked up in surprise, gasping and pained. "Wh-"

The one who punched her snarled. "You'd be best not to meddle with what is none of your business."

Yua pushed herself to her feet, stumbling. "You are endangering innocent lives. This is my business."

The man sneered, his short brown hair rustling in the wind. "You have no way to see the bigger picture. We don't need you screwing things up."

Then he turned and left, his gang following, leaving Yua gasping with burns and bruises.


End file.
